Shadows of the Future
by Ael L. Bolt
Summary: A series of episode tags that tie in to DarkJediPrincess’ Powerlust series in which Daniel is a Jedi. These serve as a prequel of sorts. Ranges from premovie to midseason seven. [06 25 06: Tag for Crystal Skull is up.]
1. Pre movie: Destined For Great Things

Shadows of the Future  
By Ael L. Bolt

Rating: Up to PG-13 (T), possibly M later but not likely  
Genre: Science Fiction/Supernatural  
Summary: A series of episode tags that tie-in to DarkJediPrincess' Powerlust series in which Daniel is a Jedi. These serve as a prequel of sorts.

Author's Notes: After I came up with some canon evidence for Daniel being a Jedi, Kat asked me to write a series based on that which takes place before Powerlust. The tags will range from pre-movie all the way to just before the season seven episode "Fallout", at which point it becomes AU to the series.

* * *

Tag #1 – Destined For Great Things

With the ease of years of practice, Claire Ballard-Jackson worked her way through the marketplace of Cairo, Egypt. One hand steadied the rucksack slung over her shoulder, which was full of food and supplies for the next week. Her plain brown clothes helped her blend into the crowd, as if she were just another Egyptian woman going about her daily errands.

As she turned into an alley, the noise of the busy market seemed to fade away into the background. Claire glanced over her shoulder in confusion, then turned back and jumped in surprise. A woman, clad in drab brown desert robes, had appeared in the middle of the alley.

"Do not be afraid," the woman said softly. Claire's eyes widened, realizing that the woman was speaking English, not Arabic. "I mean you no harm."

"Who are you? What do you want?" Claire asked cautiously, preparing to run…but there was something about this mysterious woman, as if she knew she would be safe.

The woman smiled, drawing back her hood to reveal jet-black hair and stunning blue eyes. "My name is not important." She took a step closer, and yet Claire still felt at ease in her presence. "I am merely a messenger."

"Messenger?" Claire parroted in uncertainty.

"Take care of your son, Claire Jackson," the woman replied, and Claire's free hand instinctively moved to touch her still flat abdomen, her jaw dropping in shock. How did this woman know? Claire had only suspected she was pregnant, probably two months along, but she hadn't even told Melburn yet. How could this stranger know that she was carrying a child, let alone a son?

"What…how…who _are_ you?" she sputtered in confusion and surprise.

The woman only smiled sadly. "Protect him and treasure him always, Claire Jackson. You hold the very fate of the world in your hand."

Claire looked down at her hand, still unconsciously protecting her unborn child. When she looked up, the woman was gone.


	2. Pre movie: Unheeded Warnings

Tag #2 – Unheeded Warnings

"Mama…?"

The eight-year old lingered in the doorway uncertainly as his mother turned towards him. "Danny, what's wrong?" she asked, seeing the distressed expression on his face.

Danny rubbed his hands along his arms as if to ward off a chill. "Don't go today," he blurted abruptly. "Something really bad will happen unless you stay home."

"Danny…?" Her tone was puzzled as she knelt down to see him eye to eye. "What gives you that idea, sweetie?"

Danny swallowed nervously, dropping his gaze to focus on his mother's knees. "I had a dream," he whispered after a moment. "The white lady said you're going to leave me."

"Oh, Daniel." She drew him into a gentle hug. "It was just a dream, sweetie. I would never leave you. I love you."

"N-not just you, but Daddy too," Danny continued, vision blurring slightly with unshed tears, a stutter slipping into his words. "S-s-she said y-you'll b-both go away."

"Shh, hey, I'm right here," she assured him, rubbing gentle circles on his back. "Your father and I would never leave you. Ever. It was just a dream, Daniel. We're going to stay with you forever. I promise."

Three hours later, Danny sat in silence as his parent's lifeless bodies were taken from beneath the coverstone.


	3. Pre movie: Career Choices

Tag #3 – Career Choices

Daniel tapped the pen against his lips and he considered the innocuous piece of paper before him, uncertain with his course. _Come on, Jackson, it's not a trick question,_ he berated himself over his hesitation.

It was a simple matter, really. He just needed to write one or two words, and then he could get on with doing more important things. Yet, the answer eluded him.

Uncertainty was not something Daniel was very familiar with, and he didn't like it. _It's not that hard. Psychology or archaeology? Or linguistics?_

"Tell me what to do," he whispered to no one. The paper remained silent.

Daniel thought about flipping a coin, before remembering he didn't have any change at the moment. Muttering curses in Zulu, he lowered the pen to the surface of the application, fully intending to write _Psychology_ in the blank.

A flicker of wrongness settled in his gut before the first letter was even halfway done, and he stopped to stare at it. Hesitantly, he changed it to _Archaeology_, and the unsettling feeling of wrongdoing vanished. Feeling more confident, he added a backslash and wrote _Linguistics_ next to it.

_Perfect._ He smiled down at the paper. _Hey, if one doesn't work, I can always fall back on the other one._ Satisfied with his chosen areas of study, he folded the paper and got up to hand it in.


	4. Movie: Decisions

Tag #4 – Decisions

Daniel shielded the envelope from the rain as he watched the limousine drive away. As it turned the corner, he looked down at the documents. "Travel plans," he muttered again, ducking back under the hotel awning and flipping his poncho hood back. He flicked through the papers, feeling a bit unnerved that a total stranger had located him by an old photo of one of his many foster families.

"Ancient Egyptian translations, US Air Force…what the hell does this have in common?" he wondered quietly, and turned the page to see the symbol that represented Ra, the Egyptian sun god. His eyes lit up at the beauty and style of the carving, automatically reaching out to trace it and barely noticing that it was only a photo.

Eager to see more, he went to the next page, only to stare in bewilderment at the completely unknown glyph on the paper. "What the hell is that?" He turned it sideways and upside-down, muttering to himself as he tried to figure out what it was. "Not Egyptian…" Still, it rang a chord of familiarity somewhere inside of him.

Abruptly realizing he was blocking foot traffic, he grabbed his two suitcases and hauled them over to the side before sitting on one and looking through the papers again. "Flight to Colorado tomorrow morning. Driver will meet me there and take me to…a military base?" This was getting weirder by the minute. He hesitated, torn between throwing the papers away and finding a more permanent job, but something stayed his hand. This just seemed…right, somehow.

"Hey Jackson, waiting for the aliens to take you away?" Harsh laughter met his ears as he looked up. Three of his _former_ colleagues were standing on the curb a few feet away, sneering at him. "Get the hell out of our business, you crackpot."

Daniel's eyes flared in anger at the insult, and clenched the papers tight in his hands. Anything had to be better than this…and besides, he felt like there was something greater in store for him, something that these petty juveniles would never be a part of.

Steeling his nerves, Daniel tucked the envelope in his pocket and, ignoring the jeers of three insignificant men, hailed a taxi.


	5. Movie: Resurrected

Tag #5 – Resurrected

"_Daniel_."

He turned, trying to see through the sea of white around him. "Hello?"

"_Daniel_."

Turning again, he suddenly realized there was nothing underneath him, and panicked momentarily. "What's going on?" he shouted. "Who's there?"

"Daniel."

He looked up, and his eyes widened as he beheld two women, one dressed all in white and the other in tan robes. There was a nagging familiarity as he stared at them. "Who are you? Where am I?"

"Daniel, it is not yet your time," the robed woman chided, her blue eyes holding a mixture of concern and affection. "You must return."

"Return?" he repeated, confused. "Return where? The last thing I remember…I was in a throne room, and I tried to stop those guards from killing Colonel O'Neill."

"You succeeded, yet at the cost of your own life," she replied. "You are not yet ready to join us."

"Join you? I…I'm dead, aren't I?" The idea seemed ludicrous, but what else could it possibly mean?

"Lightning flashes, sparks shower, in one blink of an eye you have missed seeing," the lady in white spoke up for the first time.

Daniel blinked in confusion. "Uh…sorry?"

The first woman smiled. "Don't mind her." She stepped forward, taking Daniel's hand in hers, and he felt a strange warmth spread from the contact. "We will meet again, Daniel," she promised. "But for now, you must go back."

Daniel opened his mouth to ask what she meant, and found himself sucked into darkness.

Air!

He sat bolt upright, ripping a silk curtain from his face and gulping deep breaths. Adrenaline surged through him as he looked around, seeing a large empty room with himself in the center. Looking down, he saw that he was lying in what looked like an Egyptian sarcophagus.

Abruptly he remembered, and he reached down to the hole in his fatigue shirt. Only smooth, unblemished skin was underneath, without even a hint of pain emanating from it. For a moment he felt as though something had happened between him being shot and then waking up, but it slipped away like water through his fingers. Vowing to think about it later, he climbed out of the sarcophagus.


	6. Children of the Gods: A Wife Taken

Tag #6 – A Wife Taken

"So," Jack said contemplatively, "the Stargate can go other places."

"The aliens could have come from anywhere," Sam affirmed.

Daniel smiled to himself as he gazed at the walls. He'd spent hours thinking about trying to dial some of the other addresses, but he would never leave Sha're for exploration. Nor would he drag her into unknown danger. No, the safest place for them both was Abydos.

"That's a hell of a lot of places to search," Jack pointed out. "Can't we narrow it down at least a little?"

"We might be able to determine incoming addresses in the future, but not with our current Gate dialing programs," Sam replied, shaking her head.

Daniel tuned out the conversation as something started nagging at him. He couldn't put his finger on it, but everything seemed…wrong, somehow. Mind racing, he went over possible causes. The address chamber? No, it seemed completely structurally sound. The sandstorm was definitely gone, so the weather wasn't an issue. Sha're was at the Stargate…

It hit him like a ton of bricks. "Oh my God!" He took off running for the exit, heedless of the surprised shouts coming from behind him.

"Daniel, what the hell?" Jack demanded as he grabbed at the archaeologist's sleeve.

"Jack, the _Stargate_," Daniel hissed, pulling away. "They could come through to Abydos!"

"Holy shit! Move out, get your asses back to the pyramid!"

Even as they ran across shifting hot sand, Daniel could almost hear the screams of the Abydonians as they were attacked. He could hear their helpless cries, could smell the destruction…

…no.

He _could_ hear them.

He ripped off his sunglasses as he hurtled into the pyramid, heart nearly stopping as the sounds of despair grew louder. He slowed down fractionally as he entered the Gate chamber, looking around in fear. "Sha're! SHA'RE!"

It was too late, and Daniel knew it.


	7. The Enemy Within: Readjusting

Tag #7 – Readjusting

Daniel stared muzzily at the swirling, dark brown coffee in his cup. He hadn't had coffee in almost a year, and it had been one of the few things he'd missed, but it held no pleasure for him now. He barely noticed how cold it was as he swallowed mechanically, only caring for the caffeine to keep the dreams at bay.

Exhausted as he was, he hardly noticed when Captain Carter joined him in the elevator. "Hi," she greeted him warmly.

He blinked, and raised his gaze to meet hers. "Hi," he mumbled automatically, sipping at his stone-cold coffee again.

Daniel could almost feel the concern radiating from her. "Hey, you okay?" she asked, touching his arm lightly.

"Yeah, just…exhausted," he admitted, taking off his glasses and rubbing at his eyes. "Heading down to the bunkroom."

Sam nodded as the doors opened, and they moved out into the corridor. Daniel replaced his glasses as she continued to speak. "I'm gonna drop by the control room. By the silence around here, it seems as if the Goa'ulds have finally given up." She glanced over at him. "When was the last time you slept?"

Daniel shook his head blearily. "I don't know," he whispered, feeling almost as though he couldn't even muster the energy to speak. It was before the Chulak mission, he knew that much.

"Doesn't help when the whole base goes on alert every two hours," Sam agreed.

Daniel slowed down, trudging to a stop in front of some double-doors. "No, it's not that," he clarified, although he had to admit it was rather nerve-wracking whenever those alarms went off. If he didn't know any better, he'd think he was feeling everyone else's fear as well. "My mind…races, and I can't stop thinking about Sha're," he tried to explain, fumbling with the words that usually came so easily. "Where she is, what she's become…"

Sam's eyes softened in sympathy. "I know. But you can't stay awake forever."

_Oh, I wish._ "I can try," he attempted to joke, lifting his nearly-empty coffee cup. The joke fell flat, and he blinked in exhaustion. "You're right; I'll see you at the next briefing."

She nodded and patted him on the shoulder as she walked past, heading for the control room. Daniel walked the other way, heading almost mindlessly towards his temporarily-assigned bunk. When he got there, he didn't even bother to turn on the light, just stumbled towards the bed with every intention of crawling onto its hard surface and sleeping around the clock.

The instant his butt hit the thin mattress, something was dislodged from the top bunk, and Daniel found himself staring at a very dead-looking hand. A thrill of horror surged through him, waking him up instantly as he scrambled for the light switch, already instinctively _knowing_ what he would find. There was someone in the room, and they didn't feel alive in the slightest.

All traces of his exhaustion fled at the sight of the murdered doctor.


	8. The Broca Divide: Instinct

Tag #8 – Instinct

The smell of blood and the sounds of snarling sub-humans dragged Daniel from the depths of unconsciousness. His body ached all over, and he painfully pried his eyes open. He was sprawled out on the ground a few feet away from a large bonfire, around which sat a group of Touched. Daniel shuddered at the sight of former humans, tearing away at raw bloody meat and devouring it whole.

Shifting, he attempted to get to his feet, but before he could even make it to his knees he was stunned by an inhumanly forceful blow to the back of the head. Vision swimming, he hit the dirt again, instinctively curling up away from the fists that continued to pound at him. Harsh waves of primitive malevolence battered him as strongly as any physical pain, disorienting him farther. He cried out as he was brutally kicked in the ribs, defensively covering his chest and head with his arms.

Finally satisfied that he would behave, the Touched moved away. Daniel lay there, trembling from the pain and mental trauma of the assault. He slowly became aware that the cool night air was caressing far too much of his skin, and he carefully peered down to see that his BDU pants were practically rags, hanging off his hips with barely enough left intact to satisfy modesty. Not that it mattered here. He felt absolutely filthy, practically caked in dirt, but couldn't think of why that should matter either.

_That's probably a bad sign,_ he told himself, suddenly becoming aware that something seemed very…off. He was hurting far worse than the beating should've allowed for, and there wasn't nearly enough blood near him to be able to smell it that strongly.

_But…Doctor Fraiser said I was immune…_

He shuddered as he realized that somehow, he'd managed to become infected by the disease. Already he could feel his headache worsening, feeling like his skull was becoming too large for his skin. The grunting of the Touched was becoming less and less foreign and frightening, and more familiar. His mind was fogging over, words deserting him as a sense of belonging began to insinuate itself in his consciousness.

The Touched ignored him as he writhed in pain, skeleton contorting unnaturally as he became one of them. His screams became animalistic howls, senses sharpening even as his mind deteriorated. And then it was over.

He raised his head and sniffed the air, aware of his brethren all around him. He felt only hunger as he rose to join them, becoming one with the Touched.


	9. The Nox: Revisiting Death

Tag #9 – Revisiting Death

Daniel watched in horror as Jack crumpled lifelessly to the dirt, smoke rising from his back. Something seemed to tear loose from his mind as he watched his friend fall. "Oh God, no!" he whispered.

"COLONEL!"

Before he could warn her, Sam broke cover and took a hit to the chest. The tearing sensation became a vicious burning, as if half of his soul had been ripped from its moorings. _This can't be happening!_ he denied, desperately watching them for any signs of life. There were none. Choking back a cry of disbelief, he stood to run over to them.

The last he knew was intense heat in his chest.

"_Daniel._"

Daniel paused in confusion, and looked around at the swirling white world he'd found himself floating in. _This seems so familiar…_

"_Daniel Jackson._"

He looked up to see a strangely-familiar woman, standing in front of him, dressed all in white and…glowing? "Who are you?" he asked her.

"How does an enlightened one return to the ordinary world?"

"Er…" Daniel blinked in confusion.

She merely smiled at him. "You are not yet ready to join the Great Path."

"The…Great Path? You mean death?" he asked, fighting a surge of familiarity. _I've done this before…haven't I?_

"Many roads lead to the Great Path. Some take longer than others."

"Look…I don't think it's fair that you should bring me back, and leave my friends…dead." He shivered at the reminder that _he_ was dead right now.

"Things are as they once were."

He looked at her, puzzled. "You mean…all of us are going to be alive?"

The woman said nothing in reply, merely raised her hand slightly. The world fell away.

Daniel drew in a deep breath as he was greeted by blackness, and it took him a moment to realize that his eyes were closed. Opening them, he was surprised to see a thatched roof over his head with no recollection of how he'd gotten there. The last thing he remembered was…

With a gasp, he sat bolt upright and reached for his chest. The shirt, jacket, and vest were all charred away, but the skin underneath was unmarred. He felt no pain, physical or otherwise, and looked over to see Jack and Sam lying on similar straw beds. Cautiously getting to his feet, he moved over to Sam's side and checked to see if she was breathing. Warm puffs of air blew over his hand, and he wonderingly reached down to touch her healed chest wound.

_This is just like on Ra's ship, except without the sarcophagus,_ he thought wonderingly. _We're all alive._


	10. Thor's Hammer: Connections

Tag #10 – Connections

Daniel's mind wandered often to Sha're as he and Sam followed Kendra over the mountains and through the Cimmerian forest. Kendra had been a host once…but no longer. The Goa'uld insisted that nothing of the host survived, but she was living proof that it was a lie.

Sometimes, at night, he'd lie awake and delude himself into thinking that Sha're was reaching out to him, calling for his aid, professing her love and faith in him. He'd never told his friends, thinking they'd start wondering about his sanity, but he just couldn't shake the feeling that it was genuine.

Kendra's immediate affirmation of his belief in their connection had bolstered his resolve to save his wife from the creature in her head. Unfortunately it seemed that Sam the skeptic had overheard his comment as well.

He tried to ignore her narrow-minded arguments as they walked along the ridges of a manmade aqueduct, but her cynical counterarguments chipped away at him. Even as he leaped over to face her on the same ridge, his annoyance at her petty closed-minded approach grew as she stubbornly insisted that Kendra was lying.

"Daniel, your belief that Kendra can somehow help bring Sha're back to you, it doesn't make it true..." she pushed on, and Daniel turned away, shoulders shaking in anger. How _dare_ she? Sha're could still be saved! "And it certainly doesn't make her reliable!" Sam's voice called after him, still insisting on her very flawed ideas.

Daniel whirled around, taking a step back towards her. "Haven't you _ever_ had a feeling that made absolutely no logical sense and it turned out to be right?" he demanded, voice raised in anger.

Sam closed her eyes for a moment, and when she opened them again he could see confusion, irritation, and even a hint of pity. _For God's sake, she won't even _listen_ to me!_ he realized bitterly, and his eyes narrowed at her. He didn't know _how_ to explain how he knew things, he just…did. Apparently his _teammate_ was too single-minded to accept that in any way.

"This way," Kendra called from up ahead, and Daniel turned his back on Sam, following where his heart told him he would find what he sought. He jumped over onto a different ridge to get away from her persistent negative arguments, and was thankful when she remained silent.

They walked for a long time, not speaking of each other at all. Finally, after about three-quarters of an hour, Sam spoke up. "Daniel…I'm sorry."

He was slightly surprised at her willingness to apologize. "What?" he asked, looking over at her.

"I didn't mean to try and shoot down your hope," she clarified, touching his arm gently. "I'm just…naturally suspicious of things that aren't scientifically plausible at first glance. I've been thinking about it a lot, and it does make a bit of sense. I know how much you love Sha're, and that you'd do anything to get her back, but…I do get feelings sometimes too, and I get the feeling that this won't quite help you. I do believe it works," she hastened to say as his anger flared again, "but I don't feel like this is going to turn out like we all hope it will."

Daniel stared at her for a moment, trying to discern the truth of her confession and finding no deceit. Lifting his hand, he placed it over hers. "Apology accepted, Sam." He smiled faintly at her. "Don't take this the wrong way, but I hope your feelings are wrong."

"Yeah," she agreed. "Me too."

Their moment was broken by Kendra's cry of, "There!" Climbing up to the cliff face, Daniel saw the sign of Thor's Hammer carved into the rock.


	11. The Torment of Tantalus: Artifacts

Tag #11 - Artifacts 

Daniel sat back in his chair and looked around the small office. He'd only been there for a few months, and already it was cluttered with his reference books, various artifacts, and a large number of journals full of notes. He smiled slightly as he realized that, at this rate, he'd have to request a larger lab by the end of the year. Jack constantly teased him about having so many 'rocks,' but Daniel had seen Jack's office. There was practically nothing in it. Daniel doubted that Jack even knew it existed, judging by the thick layer of dust over the desk.

As his eyes skimmed the bookshelves, he frowned. There was a folder there that he didn't recall owning. Getting up, he walked over to the shelf and curiously pulled it down. It was full of notes and scribblings, but after a moment, he realized it was a report on a test of the Gate. Wondering why it was in his office, he glanced at the date.

And did a double-take.

1945!

He flipped back to the beginning, finally spotting a post-it note stuck to the first page. **Dr. Jackson,** it read. **We have been declassifying some old documents, and found quite a few crates of information on Project Blue Book. Here is a small sample of what we've found. If you wish to see the rest of the materials, please contact the Pentagon as soon as possible.**

Daniel felt a shiver of excitement run down his spine. He'd never suspected they had worked on the Gate so long before he deciphered it…General West probably hadn't either. He'd told Daniel that they'd only been working on it for two years, not nearly half a century…

_And I solved it in two weeks,_ he thought to himself in amazement. _I can't believe no one else managed to stumble across the answer in all that time. This _has_ to be important. Something just doesn't fit. We're missing something._

Clutching the folder, he strode out of his office to make a request of Hammond.


	12. Fire and Water: SOS

Tag #12 – S.O.S.

"Look, I can't…I can't tell you what I don't know!"

The sea alien whirled around, snarling. "You will, or you will _die_!"

Daniel stared in horror as the alien turned around again and left. He shook slightly in fear and exasperation, listening to the noises fading into the soft noises of bubbles rising. Once he was sure the alien was gone, he slowly moved over to sit on the damp steps to think.

"God, I can't believe this is happening…" he muttered, slapping a hand over his eyes. He wracked his brain for any memory of Omoroca, but couldn't quite pin it down. All he knew was that he'd heard her name a long time ago, but nothing in great detail. Nothing memorable.

Slumping in defeat, his thoughts turned to his friends. They were still around somewhere…on the surface? Or did the alien have them captive as well? Neither one sounded quite right, but he couldn't think of where else they might be. "Guys, where are you?" he wondered in despair, unable to shake the feeling of abandonment. Closing his eyes, he pictured them all in his mind, safe and unharmed. _Come on guys,_ he thought to them sadly. _Help me. Please, help me._

Back on Earth, Sam leaned over to watch Daniel's fish swim around in the tank, and suddenly she saw Daniel again, burning to death. "_Help! Help me!_" he was yelling.

"Whoa!"

Jack managed to catch her before she fell over. "What? What is it?" he demanded in concern. "Are you all right?"

"Uh," Sam stammered, "I just had this...image in my mind, it's the second time."

Jack's eyes widened. "What was it?"

"Water," she began. "Under…"

"Bubbles rising?"

Sam nodded in surprise that he knew. "That is correct," Teal'c concurred, "I have experienced it as well."

Jack turned a little in anger. "I'm telling you, something's wrong."

"Yeah," Sam agreed, also getting a little angry. "What's wrong here is that Daniel is _dead_."

Jack looked back at her. "Is he?"


	13. Hathor: Resistance

Tag #13 – Resistance

Daniel barely realized what was going on as he felt his glasses being removed. Through a pink haze, he heard a proud voice, one that he associated with a beautiful woman. "The code of life…we do so enjoy the method of procuring the code in your species. It is much more pleasurable than most."

"I bet," he murmured dreamily, eager and willing to do whatever the voice told him to do. There was no danger here, only his queen and goddess.

Wait…

What?

"Since you are to be our first pharaoh," the voice continued in a purr, and he felt his jacket being stripped from him with ease, "you will honor us by being the one to contribute the code."

Something about this felt…very wrong. "You want me to help you create more Goa'ulds?" He barely realized he'd said it out loud, the haze suddenly starting to clear from his mind, allowing him to see the sensual yet cruel smile on the face of the woman…no, the _Goa'uld_…in front of him. Smirking in victory, she leaned towards him to kiss him.

Adrenaline surged through his veins, breaking the mist's hold on his body. Moving quickly, he lashed out and gripped her arm tightly, ready to shove her away from him. The pink fog was hard to fight, and yet he could just barely resist it, beginning to push her away from him.

Hazel eyes smiled at him, and he caught a flash of _real_ pink mist coming from her mouth. A shiver of horror and panic went up his spine, and then the fog descended on his mind again. Distantly, he felt soft lips press against his own and his body began to respond. A foreign wave of pride swept through him as he thought of the children he would create with his goddess.


	14. Solitudes: Missing

Tag #14 – Missing

Daniel delicately rubbed at the gash on his forehead in a futile attempt to massage away the headache that had begun to form. _God, I hate being concussed._ It was like his brain was wrapped in a thin layer of cotton, making his thoughts murky at best. It had been hard to think clearly enough to explain his theory on what might've happened to Jack and Sam, but that had been days ago and he still felt only slightly better.

And now Hammond had called off the search.

He slammed his fist down on the briefing room table in frustration, unable to shake the desperate feeling that they had been so close to finding Jack and Sam. They could be at the next address; maybe his parameters for the search hadn't been wide enough…

He walked over to the star map, reaching out to touch one of his crossed-off planets sadly. So many worlds searched, and not a single sign of them. He had this feeling that maybe they weren't out there after all, but he still couldn't get rid of the overwhelming idea that they were very, very close.

A rattling drew his attention and he looked over to see a pitcher and glass of water on the table, vibrating as if there was an earthquake. The rest of the room was almost completely still, but if he held his breath he could feel the very faint vibration beneath his boots. Curiously, he turned to look out the huge window at the Stargate itself, but his vision was still too unreliable to see if the tremors were real or caused by fatigue and concussion. However, he could see the very faint glow coming from all seven chevrons.

Daniel returned to stare at the glass of water, watching the ripples on the surface fade away. Almost instinctively he looked at his watch, noting the exact time.

"DanielJackson."

He straightened as the Jaffa approached, but didn't turn his gaze away from the glass yet. "Teal'c. Did you see that?" He finally looked up, but stared at the Stargate, the stirrings of a revelation beginning to unfurl in his mind.

"Why are you here?" Teal'c asked in concern.

"I couldn't sleep," Daniel murmured, the revelation becoming full-blown as he looked at the Gate. "I was thinking that I must be missing something, and now I just realized…we ruled out a world we shouldn't have." _Our own. Oh please, let this be the right track._

It certainly felt right.


	15. Tin Man: Prosthesis

Tag #15 – Prosthesis

As he had before in the isolation cell at the SGC, Daniel stared contemplatively at his hand, forming a fist and then straightening his fingers. If he listened very closely he could hear the faint whirring of servos making the fingers move, but it didn't _feel_ any different. It felt almost exactly like his old body…the organic one.

"It really doesn't feel so different," he said out loud, running those same fingers through his hair. Even that felt real, even though he knew it would never need to be cut again.

Jack shot him an astounded look from his perch on the railing. "Are you kidding? This is _totally_ different. I know stuff I shouldn't have a clue about, and I swear I can…sense…you guys being around. It's freaky."

"I agree," Teal'c added, still looking disconcerted at the absence of his symbiote. Daniel shuddered as he thought about what must've been going through the first synthetic Teal'c's mind as he Goa'uld mind took him over. Fortunately this Teal'c was sane, but he didn't share the experience of waking up with the others. "I also sense your presences, in a similar manner to how I once detected the presence of a Goa'uld within myself and others," the former Jaffa continued.

Daniel frowned in slight confusion. "That's not so weird."

The other three stared at him. "What do you mean?" Sam asked curiously. "I certainly think gaining new senses is bizarre."

"I think one of the reasons I didn't figure it out right away was because I already had a sense of sorts, when other people were around," Daniel tried to explain. "Nothing felt wrong until we went back…I mean, to the SGC…now that I'm thinking about it, I _couldn't_ sense anyone but you guys."

"Daniel, that's…ah, not quite normal," Jack stated bluntly, eyeing the younger man. "What, is it some kind of archaeologist's sixth sense or something?"

Daniel shook his head. "I have no idea, Jack. All I know is that it's gone now, but in a way it's still here." He paused. "I'm not making much sense, am I?"

"Not really."

He shrugged. "Well, we've got eleven thousand years to talk about it. For now we should probably bury the Gate like we told…ourselves…that we would." He still found it odd to talk about his other self; the pronouns were quite confusing.

"No."

Daniel's eyebrows shot up. "No?"

"No," Jack repeated. "I lied to the, um, other me. We're not just giving up. Harlan said the others had portable batteries or something. We can get our hands on some of those and keep exploring through the Stargate. Who knows, we might find something of use to Earth, and then we can build our own GDOs to deliver the goods. Even if we can't go ourselves."

One by one, the other members of SG-1 agreed. And because Daniel could no longer sense what he used to, he had no idea what the future held.


	16. TBFtGoG: Through a Glass Darkly

Tag #16 – Through a Glass Darkly

Daniel stared at the scarred face of _General_ O'Neill, still trying to wrap his brain around the fact that it _wasn't_ his friend standing in front of him. This Jack O'Neill had never met him, he even seemed very different, but there was still a bit of his Jack in him. Unfortunately part of that was the stubborn part, because this Jack refused to consider helping Daniel save his Earth.

"The Jack O'Neill I know would do it," he tossed out in frustration.

"Well apparently you and I have never met!" O'Neill snapped, cold brown eyes searing into the archaeologist. Yet anger wasn't the only thing Daniel saw in him…there was hopelessness and despair, the look of a man who knows he's marching to his doom but is going to do his damndest to take down as many enemies as possible.

"No," Daniel conceded. "I guess not." He could vaguely hear the chaos of the control room around him as everyone rushed around to do whatever they could to help, which more often than not was absolutely nothing. He straightened slightly, focusing solely on the general, knowing he had to try at least once more. "Look," he started, "all I know is because I came here, I have seen what can happen. And I have a chance, to keep this from happening from the Earth that I come from, _if_ you help me."

The hardened general kept the eye contact as if searching for something, and Daniel didn't look away. _Please, Jack. As much as I hate to say it, there's nothing you can do here. Do you really want to condemn my Earth to destruction at the hands of the Goa'uld?_ He tried as hard as he could to bring that across to O'Neill, well aware that this may be his last chance.

Finally, the general looked down at Dr. Carter. "How much time, doctor?"

"Twenty-two minutes," she replied almost immediately.

O'Neill looked grimly back up at Daniel. "Okay, the argument is academic. We could never hold them that long anyway."

Despite his apparent indifference, Daniel could see that he truly did want to help, but didn't think it would work. "Well maybe we could buy some time," the archaeologist suggested as an idea hit him.

"How?" O'Neill asked, obviously willing to give it a shot if he thought it could work.

"Not how," Daniel corrected with a sad smile. "_Who_."


	17. Politics: Into the Lion's Den

Tag #17 – Into the Lion's Den

"_I am _not_ crazy._"

Daniel felt a surge of pleasure as the pompous asshole's face contorted in agony, and he maliciously backhanded the coot across the face. "Idiot," he growled, electric blue tendrils roaring from his fingertips, reveling in the politician's terrified screams. "You should have listened to me. You've only brought this upon yourself, _mister Vice President_." The last was said with a mocking sneer.

Kinsey whimpered as an unseen force caught him around the throat, lifting him up off the cold deck. "Pay attention when I'm talking to you!" Daniel roared, his fingers curling into hooked talons as he gleefully strangled the lesser creature.

"Stop, please!" Kinsey wheezed, voice barely more than an exhalation, face turning purple at the lack of oxygen.

A malicious grin sprang onto Daniel's lips, and he let the fool crash to the floor, barely repressing a hysterical giggle at the dull thud of his skull impacting the metal decking. Wide-eyed, Kinsey tried to squirm away, but his progress was severely hampered by his tightly-bound limbs. "I'll have you arrested for this!" he tried to bellow, but it came out as a desperate shriek. "You'll be on Death Row for sure once I'm through with you!"

"Oh, I don't think so," Daniel murmured, calling his favored weapon into his hand with a mere thought. The politician stared in horror as he activated the crimson blade, its evil red light spilling like blood across his features.

The first cut was shallow, but it singed the eyebrows off the terrified man and left a small bleeding gash on his forehead. He tried to cross his eyes to see the disfiguring wound, but immediately screamed as the blade plunged into his leg, melting flesh and bone beneath its wrath. The shock traveled through his entire leg, and his cries of pain jumped an octave as every bone in the limb shattered, the shards flinging themselves outwards as if trying to cut their way out of his skin.

Daniel raised the blade high in preparation for another blow, and when Kinsey saw those wild eyes he beheld his death.

"I…AM…NOT…CRAZY!"

"_Nor am I, Doctor Jackson_."

Daniel blinked as the torture chamber wavered, replaced by the familiar grey walls of the SGC briefing room. Kinsey, pompous as ever and all in one piece, continued ranting at the archaeologist, completely unaware of what had just happened.

_What _did_ just happen?_ Daniel wondered, sickened at the images his mind had called up. _I would _never_ do anything so horrific._ Yet as Kinsey raved, he wasn't so sure he wouldn't mind the bastard getting what was coming to him. And that scared him more than anything.


	18. The Serpent's Lair: Mortal

Tag #18 – Mortal

There it was.

Daniel cursed the dead weight of his all-but-useless legs, clawing at the floor with his good hand, propelling himself to the base of the golden sarcophagus. For a moment he just sat there, gathering his strength before raising his arm up to grasp the edge of the box.

His fingers nearly slipped, but inch by inch he managed to haul his torso over the edge. The lid was closed, and he stretched out towards the gem that would open it.

Just a little farther…

Bloodied fingertips brushed the edge of the gem, and slid off. Darkness edging in on his vision, Daniel swatted weakly at it, straining to push just a little closer to his salvation. As his sight faded, he felt the gem under his hand and gave it a twist, then fell into the embrace of the dark.

"_Hello again, Daniel._"

He blinked as the world around him shimmered, and an oddly-familiar robed woman stepped from the mist. Daniel cocked his head to the side, wracking his memories for where he'd seen her before. "Hello," he said cautiously, latching onto a thread of memory. "I'm dead again, aren't I?"

"I'm afraid so," the blue-eyed woman replied, but she was smiling. "Don't worry, Daniel. The sarcophagus is healing you as we speak, and within moments you will awaken."

"Wait," he protested, taking a step forward and yet going nowhere. "I have to know – will my friends be okay?"

"They are making their way to the glider bays," she told him, without any dancing around the subject. "They will escape the explosion. You, however, cannot take the same path."

For a long moment, he just stared at her. "So all this was for nothing?" he asked, a hint of despair creeping into his voice.

His companion shook her head. "Hardly." She smiled enigmatically, as if she knew something he didn't. "Stargate Command has established their own beta site under a different name, but the address remains identical to the one you already know."

Understanding hit, and then the world gave way to golden light.

Daniel opened his eyes, feeling a bit disoriented. Where was he? Slowly, he reached out and grasped the short walls and pulled himself upright. He took in the hieroglyph-covered walls, and the gleaming surface of the sarcophagus. His shoulder and chest still ached a bit, but he hauled himself out of the sarcophagus and ran over to check the timer on the C4 under the pel'tak control panel.

00:01:14.

Was it enough time? He had to…do what?

"_Get to the Stargate._"

Not pausing to wonder where the voice was coming from, he turned and bolted down the corridor, praying he wouldn't run into any Jaffa. "Beta site, beta site," he chanted to himself as he hurtled down the golden hallways, every passing second driving his hurry up another notch.

Turning a corner, he dashed into the Stargate chamber, tossing his MP5 to the side. "Beta site, beta site," he said breathlessly, punching the chevrons as quickly as he could. He slammed his hand down on the red jewel in the center of the DHD, then ran for the shimmering event horizon.

Daniel was violently ejected from the wormhole on the other side, tumbling straight into a group of people in SGC uniforms at the base of the Gate platform, knocking several of them over. A blast of superheated air followed his ungraceful exit from the event horizon, which then deactivated, cutting off the wave of destruction.

He simply lay there for several moments to catch his breath, barely feeling the various aches in his body from impact. A shadow fell across his face and he opened his eyes, squinting up at the man leaning over him. "Are you okay, Jackson?"

"Ferretti?" Daniel accepted the hand reached out to him, and let the Major pull him to his feet. "Yeah, I'm fine," he said, rubbing the back of his neck. "Just a little bit of a bumpy ride, that's all. Listen, I've gotta get back to the SGC – we destroyed Apophis' ships." Without waiting for an answer, he stepped over to the DHD.

"Wait, what?" Ferretti sputtered. "Where's the rest of your team?"

Daniel paused, looking over to the other man. "Don't worry, they found…alternate means of transport." He pushed down on the center crystal and sent his GDO code. "I'll explain everything later."


	19. The Gamekeeper: Eye of the Beholder

Tag #19 – Eye of the Beholder

For a long moment he couldn't move, couldn't even breathe, staring wide-eyed at the impossible sight before him. They were so…normal, healthy, _alive_…!

"Daniel?"

"I'm sorry, this area isn't open to the public."

Daniel barely noticed the voices behind him, focused completely on the sounds he hadn't heard in twenty-four years except in his nightmares. A strong male voice echoed faintly underneath the chained coverstone, and Daniel hardly registered the words themselves. Tears threatened his sight as a soft woman's tones answered, and he felt like something torn was being haphazardly glued back together in his chest.

"Daniel, what's going on?"

"No," he breathed instead, sensing the ragged edges of his heart weren't totally how it used to be. "This can't be real." _It can't. It just _can't_. It doesn't feel right, but…_He exhaled shakily, struggling to hold back a wave of hysteria. _I haven't felt this since…_

"Who are these people?"

Finally he became aware that Sam was standing right next to him, but he didn't turn to look at her. "They're my _parents_," he said in disbelief.

He watched, transfixed, as they moved and talked and breathed. He wanted so badly to run to them, to hold them tight and pull them away from the danger, but he couldn't move an inch. Even when the coverstone started to wobble, all he could manage was a near-silent cry of denial. "No…"

Realization of what was able to happen snapped him out of his trance, and he screamed. "_Get out of there, Mom, get out of there, Dad_!"

His warning came too late, and the ominous _snap_ of the chain breaking rang out like a gunshot. The horrific death-scream of his mother, the same one that had haunted him for twenty-four years, ripped through him and he felt his half-mended heart tear into shreds once more. Paralyzed with agony, he didn't even register it when Sam gently took him by the arm and pulled him away from the ghastly scene, lightly pushing him down into a seat against an exhibit case, facing away from the sight he had never, ever forgotten.

"Oh God," he whispered, wrapping his arms tightly around himself, not even noticing when a second pair of arms embraced him in an effort to ease some of his pain. "Oh God, oh God…"

Soft words fell on his ears, but he couldn't understand them anymore.


	20. Need: Seduction

Tag #20 – Seduction

Daniel couldn't believe the selfish concerns of his so-called 'friends'. They didn't care about studying the sarcophagus, even though it could save lives? They didn't care about Shyla's predicament? Hell, they didn't even care about him!

"All right, look," Jack started to say.

Daniel whirled around, trembling with rage. "No, YOU LOOK, JACK!" he spat out, jabbing a finger at the filthy colonel. "I have got EVERYTHING under control, OKAY? GOD, you never show me any respect!" He felt the shaking increase, and he knew he was due for another little 'nap'. _"No time for that now; don't let them see your weakness."_

Daniel forced himself to calm down a little. "Your way didn't work," he continued, in disbelief that he actually had to spell it out for them. "Now I'm handling it. All you guys have to do is hang in there!"

He waited for some acknowledgement, but all they did was stare dumbly at him. Annoyed, he shook his head and stormed out of the mine.

_"They're stubborn fools,"_ a voice whispered in his ear. _"They're afraid of the power you're gaining."_

"Yes…" He felt a surge of dark pleasure as the other slaves scurried out of his way in fear.

_"O'Neill is afraid you won't listen to him anymore if you keep doing this,"_ the whisper encouraged him. _"He fears you'll take _his_ power away from him."_

"And then he would deserve that, wouldn't he?" One slave was too slow to get out of Daniel's path, so he kicked the crawling creature in the side. It yelped and dragged itself away, letting him continue towards the pyramid.

_"You should kill them."_

Daniel stopped just inside the entrance of the palace. "No." He hesitated. "That's…no. I can't kill them." _What are you _doing? he asked himself.

_"Then you must free them."_ The voice changed tone immediately to a more soothing one that put him almost completely at ease. _"Make Shyla grovel at your feet; make her do anything you wish. You have that power over her, Daniel."_

Daniel's vision began to blur and he put a hand out to stop himself from falling. _Shit._ He cursed the weakness of his mortal body.

_"Go to the sarcophagus."_

Daniel wavered slightly as he slowly continued down the hall to the throne room. It was deserted when he got there, and he managed to key the Goa'uld device open. The lid split open invitingly, the soft white glow already beginning to shine through the embracing arms.

_"Get in, and you will be strong again,"_ the voice urged. _"No one will be able to stop you."_

Daniel paused at the edge, thinking. "I can't keep doing this," he muttered. "If I keep having to come back to the sarcophagus, what will happen if…?"

_"It will never happen. I promise you, once you have rested you will be powerful enough that no one would ever dare keep you from using it. You will indeed be like a god. And then you can avenge yourself against everyone who has ever dared ridicule you."_

With new determination, Daniel lowered himself into the golden box and let the lid close over him.


	21. Secrets: Found and Lost

Tag #21 – Found and Lost

"Will you stay?"

As he gazed into the eyes of the one he loved, Daniel knew he couldn't make Abydos his home again. "I can't," he murmured, stroking Sha're's cheek with his thumb. She started to look away, her very pose ringing with shame and disappointment, but he gently tipped her chin up. "Because I want you to come home with me."

Sha're looked back at him, hesitation swirling in her eyes before she let out a sigh of relief, and dropped her forehead to rest against his. Both trembling, they embraced tightly. Daniel closed his eyes, savoring the feeling of holding his wife in his arms again and letting their souls mingle together.

Daniel was slightly startled when the moment was interrupted by a tiny motion between them. Pulling back slightly, he rested a hand on his wife's belly, the awful reminder of what she had been through…and yet he felt no revulsion towards the child itself, no matter who its father was.

"It bothers you, Dan'yel," Sha're said, those exotic eyes brimming with tears again.

"Yes," he admitted quietly. "But only because I wish it was ours." He hugged her again, fighting back his own regretful sorrow, and this time he smiled slightly when he felt the unborn baby kick again. "When the baby is born," he told her, "the child won't belong to Apophis anymore. I don't care who the father is; it'll be ours."

He couldn't see her face, but he could feel Sha're smile. "That is good, my husband." As if afraid of her welcome, she haltingly raised her eyes to meet his. "I have pretended the child I carry is yours, Dan'yel," she confessed. "It is the only thing I knew to do. I could not bear the thought of that monster…" she trailed off, but Daniel knew what she was going to say.

"When we get to Earth, Apophis will never touch you again," he promised.

There was a scratching at the tent entryway, and Kasuf cautiously peered in. "May we enter?" he asked, respecting their privacy though he had no obligation to do so.

"Of course, Good Father," Daniel answered, leading Sha're to sit down next to the fire. "Teal'c can come in too, if he wants."

The Jaffa ducked into the tent behind Kasuf. "Thank you, DanielJackson."

Sha're looked up at Teal'c, and for a moment Daniel worried that she would blame him for her predicament. Much to his surprise, there was no malice in her. "Teal'c," she said. "I did not tell you sooner because I did not know what kind of man you are. You are the protector of my Dan'yel?"

Teal'c bowed his head to the smaller woman in respect. "I guard DanielJackson with my life, of my own free will."

She smiled slightly. "This is good. I must thank you for keeping my husband safe in his many travels."

Daniel was embarrassed by being the topic of discussion, and the inference that he needed a bodyguard, but he said nothing. Sha're had accepted Teal'c, and given him her blessing to watch over that which was most precious to her. He would not insult her gift by insisting otherwise.

"What will be done concerning the fate of my daughter and her child?" Kasuf asked.

"We can take her to my home, to Earth," Daniel explained as he poured out a cup of water.

"After the child is born, the demon within me will awaken again," Sha're pointed out as the thought occurred to her. "She will punish the child for my disobedience." Daniel sat down next to her and handed her the cup, wishing he could do more for her.

"We would not allow that to happen," Teal'c promised. Daniel met the Jaffa's gaze, sensing the conviction there and knowing that the alien man would move entire mountain ranges with his bare hands to keep such a promise.


	22. A Matter of Time: Oblivion

Tag #22 – Oblivion

Daniel paused in the middle of his excited scribbling. Letting the notebook droop slightly, he looked around. Sunny skies, light breeze, blue trees, four bored Marines. Everything certainly looked normal. Well, normal for P3X-808 in any case.

The archaeologist frowned, unable to put a finger on what he was sensing. There was something…off. Out of place. Skewed. He had hundreds of words for what he was feeling, and yet he couldn't figure out what precisely was wrong. Go figure.

Briefly, he contemplated asking Colonel Pierce if he felt anything wrong, but similar ventures in the past had always been laughed off by just about everyone. He turned back to his notebook and continued his careful transcription of the cuneiform on the crumbling stone wall.

Barely five minutes passed before he threw down his notebook, shaking all over at the intense _wrongness_. Lieutenant Braun heard the soft thud of the journal hitting the hard-packed ground and looked over to see the borrowed archaeologist hugging himself, a weird look on his face. "Doctor Jackson, are you okay?" he asked, drawing the attention of his teammates as well.

Daniel would've blushed from having four pairs of eyes watching him acting so strangely, but the screaming alarm in his head drowned out any embarrassment. "I don't know," he admitted, hauling himself to his feet. "Something doesn't…feel right."

Captain Stockwell scoffed at that. "You're having bad _feelings_?" he said scornfully, continuing to clean and oil his P90.

Pierce, however, didn't dismiss what Daniel was saying. He'd heard about the legendary SG-1 and how their already well-honed battle instincts had saved them on several occasions. "Explain, Jackson," he said instead, shooting a chastising look at Stockwell, who flinched and mouthed an apology.

"I think we should contact Earth, immediately," Daniel confessed. To his surprise, Pierce didn't question this advice at all. Instead he ordered his three subordinates to start packing the camp while he and Daniel dialed Earth.

The sight of each chevron lighting up should have brought him a small form of comfort, but Daniel's dread increased with each humming glyph. Almost reluctantly, he pressed on the finalizing crystal in the center of the DHD.

It took a moment for it to register that the address had winked out without establishing a wormhole, but the significance was immediately realized. "Try dialing the alpha site," Pierce ordered. Daniel obeyed, and he didn't know whether to feel better or worse when the wormhole connected.

"Something's wrong back on Earth," Daniel concluded, disconnecting the Gate before they headed back to help pack up.

"We don't know that for sure," Pierce argued half-heartedly. "It might've just been in use at the time we dialed. We'll try dialing again once camp is packed, and if it doesn't connect we'll go to the alpha site until we can get through."

Daniel knew that wasn't the case, but he nodded anyway.

The next time they dialed the Gate, it still wouldn't connect with Earth. Upon arrival at the alpha site, the offworld base personnel set up a schedule of dialing home every two hours. When SG-4 arrived a half a day later, they knew they were in trouble. Every day, the alpha Gate made multiple attempts at dialing Earth. All of them failed.

Daniel's bad feeling did not disappear. If anything, it got worse and worse as the days went by. In an attempt to ignore it, he threw himself into helping set up the potentially permanent settlement. Two weeks of being stranded offworld found him foraging for local foods to sustain their small population, but he dropped everything at the sound of the Gate activating and dashed back to base.

"What happened?" he shouted as he bolted into camp.

Major Harper, standing at the DHD, stared at the shimmering blue event horizon, stunned. "We connected with Earth," he blurted. "Go get Colonel Pierce!"

For the first time in two weeks, that horrible feeling was gone.


	23. Serpent's Song: Whispers of the Dark

Tag #23 – Whispers of the Dark

Daniel stood over Apophis in the dark room, clenching his hands into tight fists to halt the nervous shaking. Finally, his wife's rapist was at his mercy and would have no choice but to give Sha're back to Daniel if he ever wanted his freedom.

"_Not that you would ever set him free,"_ a vaguely familiar voice whispered over his shoulder. _"If he does not hope for his freedom from you, you must make him fear _you_."_

"Our minds, our knowledge, our very being is so much greater, so much more," Apophis sneered at him, the haughty air seeming pathetic in the darkness of the room, in his restrained posture and his broken body.

"_He thinks he controls you,"_ the voice urged. _"Show him that _you_ are in control."_

Daniel slowly let the edges of a smirk touch his lips. In a soft, sing-song tone, he breathed, "I know where your child is."

A distinct surge of satisfaction hit him as Apophis immediately lost his sneer. Those dark eyes looked away quickly, fixing on the ceiling yet unable to escape Daniel's unnerving, unblinking stare. "My son," the Goa'uld rumbled in wonder, but not without a touch of fear.

"Yes. I brought him into the world with my own hands on Abydos," Daniel continued, relishing the anger he could see on the fallen system lord's face.

Apophis continued to stare at the ceiling, but he couldn't avoid the poisonous words. "He was taken by Heru'ur," he said flatly, flinching.

"No," Daniel corrected, shaking his head slightly but not moving his gaze from Apophis. "By _me_."

As if against his will, Apophis' turned back to meet Daniel's eyes. For a long, long moment, Daniel savored the fear and devastation in the face of his enemy. Then, quietly, Apophis muttered, "I have no use for the child now."

Daniel remained silent, all satisfaction from seeing his enemy brought to his knees gone in an instant. _"You should kill him,"_ the voice suggested. _"Slowly and painfully."_

"Amounet," Apophis said, his smile reforming. "I knew from the moment I laid eyes on her, she was a vessel for a queen."

In some distant part of his mind, Daniel was aware that Apophis' statement could be considered a backhanded compliment, but he didn't care. Leaning down next to his enemy's head, Daniel lowered his voice to a deadly whisper. "If you don't tell me where she is…I'll kill you right here."

Apophis stared right back, unable to do anything else, dark eyes full of fear. "You have neither the strength nor the will," he finally replied, voice sharp with the accent of nervousness.

"_He thinks you're bluffing. Show him, Daniel."_

Daniel prepared to step back and "borrow" one of the guard's weapons, but before he could do more than think about it, Sam's voice rang out behind him. "Daniel!"

Daniel hesitated, then turned to look at her as she entered, anger filling him at the interruption. _If I can't kill him, at least let him be in PAIN!_

As he moved to acknowledge Sam, Apophis suddenly arched his back and cried out in agony, drawing Daniel's attention back to the helpless parasite. Dark, delicious enjoyment washed over him as he focused all his willpower on making Apophis _suffer_.

Sam would not just stand there forever, so reluctantly he leaned back, taking his time to appreciate every microsecond of anguish his enemy experienced. Finally, he turned away and stormed out of the room, past the guards and Sam, into the hall so he wouldn't be tempted any longer. He leaned up against the wall, regaining his composure, and barely heard Sam as she touched his arm and said something about the Tok'ra coming before taking off again. He spared one last glance at Apophis, who seemed to have passed out, before following his friend's footsteps down the corridor.


	24. One False Step: Secret Life of Daisies

Tag #24 – The Secret Life of Daisies

Daniel sat in the dry dust of PJ2-445, sketching in his journal. The white orb-like plant did nothing, no matter how far back he sat, so he stationed himself close to it and drew what only he had seen before: the plant growing taller than Daniel, in long ropy stalks. Over his shoulder he could hear Jack loudly berating the mute natives as he tried to keep them quarantined. _Jack doesn't believe me,_ Daniel thought somewhat bitterly. _But this is _important.

"Daniel, come help me with these guys!" Jack yelled, sounding annoyed.

Daniel shivered at the ripples of irritation Jack was unknowingly casting in his direction, but he didn't answer. The plant held his full attention. He _had_ to get it to grow again.

_It doesn't even _look_ like a plant,_ he mused, looking it over. _Looks more like…I dunno, a pile of marshmallows. Maybe white balloons._

Despite the negative thoughts, he kept working on analyzing what he had witnessed. There had to be some kind of trigger, something that made it grow tall and give off that wonderful soothing feeling. He couldn't place what exactly it did that made him feel as he did, but it was very comforting on some level.

The same resonance had not only come from the plant, he realized. It also came from…the alien? _Well that puts a new spin on things,_ he pondered, scribbling that down along the side of the sketch.

Getting an idea, he dug through his pack. Somewhat aware of Jack's increasing frustration, he remained focused on his task and eventually located his video camera, buried under a handful of rations and extra clips for his Beretta.

"Ah-ah-ah, get back! Come on, get back!" An explosive sigh. "Fine. Knock yourself out. Go ahead. Go play in the street! Don't forget your sunblock." Jack stomped over as Daniel set up his camera. "Why aren't you helping me!"

"It's no use, they don't understand," Daniel explained. "They just wanna be with each other."

"Well we're not gonna stand around doing nothing!" Jack snapped.

"We're _not_ doing nothing!" Daniel replied, setting up the short tripod and aiming the camera at the plant.

"…you're video-taping a _plant_," Jack pointed out sarcastically. Daniel had to admit, it sounded kind of stupid when he put it that way. But it was an _alien_ plant, so it made at least a little more sense in context. Alien plants and such had a bad habit of being totally unlike their Earth relatives.

"Well, I think this might be important," Daniel explained calmly, setting the camera to record. _This could be the solution to the whole damn situation. I can feel it._

"Well _I_ think you might be losing what's _left_ of your mind!"

Daniel blinked and straightened up, turning to meet Jack. _What?_ he thought incredulously, hardly able to believe what he'd just heard his friend say. "What's _that_ supposed to mean?"


	25. 1969: In a Name

Tag #25 – In a Name

"You told him your name was _what_?"

"Luke Skywalker," Jack replied, not noticing the baffled look on Daniel's face in the darkness of the transport van.

"Where'd you get that from?" Daniel asked, something nagging at the back of his mind.

Jack shrugged, rattling the chains of the handcuffs. "Just thought it sounded cool. Why?"

Daniel closed his eyes.

"_General Hammond is going to want to talk to you," Janet said, directing her attention to a bed next to the one Daniel was sitting on. The man seated on it was dressed in an unfamiliar style, but it was recognizable as a black flightsuit. His hands and arms were completely concealed by black leather gloves, one of which didn't come off for some reason. His hair was dark blond in color, and his eyes were an icy blue that seemed to look right through to one's soul._

"_Very well, then," the blond-haired man acquiesced, and Janet left the room, presumably to report to the general._

_Feeling somewhat self-conscious in the presence of the visitor, Daniel pulled his black uniform shirt on and settled his glasses on his face. "Why do you need those?" the man asked curiously, pointing at the metal frames._

"_Oh, I'm nearsighted," Daniel explained, "and these correct my vision."_

_Before the man could question him further, General Hammond entered in Janet's wake. "Dr. Jackson?"_

"_I'm fine, sir," Daniel reassured the base commander._

"_Good to hear it," Hammond said, and Daniel could tell it was genuine. Reassured that his favorite archaeologist was safe, he turned to their visitor. "Dr. Frasier said your name is Luke Skywalker?"_

_The man nodded. "Yes, sir."_

"Daniel? You okay?"

Daniel opened his eyes and looked over at Jack, who was eyeing him in concern. "I'm fine, Jack."

"What was that about?" Sam asked from the other bench. "You went somewhere else for a minute."

"Just remembering something," Daniel dismissed it. "A dream I had once. It's nothing, really."

His teammates looked as if they didn't believe him, but they dropped the matter. "All right, listen," Jack started. "I don't know where we're headed, but they'll probably try to split us up. So we're not going to have much time to…"

"Escape and hopefully live out the rest of our lives without affecting history," Sam finished. Daniel sighed slightly, glad that the focus had shifted away from his dream for the time being, and the conversation continued. A few minutes later, there was a loud bang, and he could feel the van pull to the side of the road.

"Tire must've blown out," Daniel analyzed quietly.

Sure enough, the young lieutenant opened the back door to keep an eye on the prisoners while his companions set about fixing the tire. That's when Daniel noticed his nametag said HAMMOND.


	26. Legacy: Not Real

Tag #26 - Not Real 

They were all over him.

Frantically, he tried to brush them away, but their sharp pincers gripped his skin tightly. They clicked and buzzed, covering every inch of him, drowning out his terrified whimpers. "Oh God, get them off! Help me, please!"

"_Daniel Jackson!_"

The black-clad figure glared menacingly at him, grey eyes burning in anger. "_How could you let them do this to you?_" she snarled, not seeming to notice the endless swarm of insects. "_Weakling!_"

"I tried!" he shouted back, and the bugs were gone. "I tried...they found out. Tried to hide it...couldn't stop it..."

"_You should have fought back,_" the woman snapped at him, merging with the shadows themselves. "_You should have killed them before you let them take you!_"

"I couldn't...no, not even if Jack was really a Goa'uld! I'd never..."

"_You are of no use to me now, pathetic piece of filth!_" She gave him a disgusted look. "_Unless you somehow manage to break out of here, I doubt I'll be seeing you again._"

"Wait, don't go...!"

But there were only soft white walls.

He pressed himself further into the harmless wall, pressing his face into his hands. _How long have I been here?_ he wondered shakily, feeling stubble scrape his skin like the swarm of bugs had done. It felt like he'd been locked in this little room forever, with nothing but intense hallucinations to keep him company.

Temporarily lucid, he thought back to the woman. _I know I've heard her voice before...in another delusion? Seemed so real, not like the others. I don't...can't remember...God, it's so hard to think._

The sound of the nearly-hidden door opening drew his attention, but he closed his eyes. _No, don't need more drugs...please, just leave me alone..._

"Don't expect too much. If he becomes agitated, call the aides."

_What?_ Cringing a little, he looked up without moving his head. Three blurry, green figures were awkwardly standing across the room. Daniel sniffled quietly. _They _look _real...they're not totally clear like the hallucinations tend to be..._ "Jack?" he asked softly.

Sam's voice answered. "It's us, Daniel. Can't you see us?"

Relief. It was really them. "I was just making sure you weren't figures of my...mind," he stammered, not looking directly at them in fear they'd vanish. "They took away my glasses in case I broke the lenses and, uh, tried to...hurt myself."

"Are they treating you okay?" Jack, this time.

"Yeah." He choked back a hysterical sob, and saw that none of them made any move toward him. He sniffled a little, trying to rein in his emotions. "I'm sorry!"

"For what?" Jack asked, still not moving.

"For being such a headcase..." The last part degenerated into an almost panicky laugh. _Please...don't go...please be real..._

"It's not your fault, Daniel." Even Sam was starting to cry, and Sam didn't do that. _Oh God...they're not real? Please...please be real..._


	27. Point of View: Through the Looking Glass

Tag #27 – Through the Looking Glass

"There he is!"

Daniel reached past his barriers and tapped into the Force, boosting his natural speed as he darted ahead of the angry crowd. Bolting around a corner, he made an enhanced leap up onto a cloth canopy.

Quickly, he flipped backwards to land on the solid roof across the street and ducked down. Beneath him, the crowd ran down the street, yelling obscenities in regards to the human.

Once he was sure they were gone, he flopped onto his back and glared at his companion. "I thought you told me what I said was a compliment," he growled through clenched teeth, ignoring the freezing rain pelting his face and chest.

Blue transparent shoulders shrugged. "I lied," she said, looking not at all apologetic.

He sighed, rolling over and standing up. "Revan…what did I _actually_ say?" he asked in resignation.

Revan tapped a finger against her lips in thought. "Something about smugglers' questionable parentage, and the quality of their skills."

His eyes widened in disbelief. "And you had me say this _why_!"

She grinned. "Just wanted to see how you'd handle it."

Daniel squeezed his eyes shut and smacked himself in the forehead with the butt of his lightsaber a few times in exasperation. _Sometimes I really, really regret taking this job,_ he muttered mentally.

He'd been planet-hopping ever since his thirtieth birthday, when the shimmering blue spirit of the ex-Sith ambushed him in a narrow alley on the edge of Cairo. Taken aback at her odd appearance, he had no choice but to listen to her tale about the Force and the Jedi that used it. Then she told him that he had the ability as well, and that she wanted to train him as one of these Jedi warriors.

At first he thought she was just a hallucination, but when she directed him to an ancient-looking, pyramid-shaped ship buried in the desert, he couldn't help but be convinced. Thus had he taken control of the ship, and left Earth for good, with only Master Revan by his side.

The past five years had been spent exploring the galaxy under her direction. Building his lightsaber had proven less than easy, as most of the parts required weren't native to his galaxy, but he'd managed to jury-rig a working tool with equivalent parts. The casing itself was made of parts from a ribbon device, wound tightly into a tube. Most who saw it thought he was a god, or a god-slayer.

Not these smugglers.

"I can't _believe_ you did that," he grumbled, vaulting over the edge of the roof to land on the next one, his teacher floating placidly along. "Did you want me to have to kill them?"

"No," Revan countered, drifting slightly ahead and turning around to face him as he made his way towards their ship. "I wanted to know that you could handle a situation such as that without resorting to violence."

"Well now you know," he replied, lightly landing on the ground just outside the spaceport. Daniel drew his cloak around him, putting the hood up to escape casual glances.

He almost made it to the landing pads when a trio of presences made themselves known surrounding him. Three matching weapons aimed straight at his chest. "Hand over your valuables," the leader screeched in the local trader's tongue, rain dripping from his dozen head-tentacles.

"And if I don't?" Daniel asked calmly, not moving.

Large black eyes squinted at him. "We kill you, and take what we want."

Daniel sighed, rolled his eyes, and took out his lightsaber. The leader grinned in satisfaction, lowering his weapon and holding out a hand for the shiny gold trinket.

He screamed in surprise and pain as the raging sapphire blade activated, slicing cleanly through his wrists. The other two thieves gasped, firing wildly in his direction. Most of the shots didn't even come close, but those that posed a danger were deflected immediately. Eventually they realized they weren't even coming close, and fled in terror, leaving their leader quite literally disarmed and writhing on the ground.

"Nice," Revan commented as he boarded the ancient tel'tak. "They didn't even hand you your ass on a plate this time."

Daniel scoffed, throwing himself in the pilot's chair and throwing his hood back. "You know, you lose _one_ bar brawl…that was over four years ago! How can you still remember that?"

The ex-Sith smirked. "I have a good memory," she drawled.

Her student was only paying partial attention now as he fired up the engines and blasted off, easily avoiding the startled shots from the ground that futilely attempted to shoot him down. "Cross _that_ planet off our list of safe havens," he said once they were safely in hyperspace.

Revan laughed, lounging in the copilot's chair without ever actually touching it. "Our list of safe havens is…what, three planets?"

Daniel blushed, and side-stepped the accusation. "So where to next?"

Revan grinned. "I know a nice little place called Abydos…"


	28. Forever In a Day: The Day After Forever

Author's Note: I realize I may have confused you all a bit with the last tag. Since "Point of View" deals with the quantum mirror, and we never know what happened to the alternate Daniel, I decided to follow him around and have some fun. It's not really connected to the episode in any other way than the fact that it's an alternate Daniel. Dark Jedi Princess and I are probably going to make a side storyline involving the adventures of mirrorJediDaniel, but it won't start until I'm finished with this series. (For those curious, there are sixty-some tags planned.)

* * *

Tag #28 – The Day After Forever

It had been so long since he'd seen her face. He lightly brushed his fingers over her jaw, ignoring the stabbing pain in his head and the concerned voices from the doorway of the tent. He wanted to tell them he was fine, but grief stole his voice. His vision blurred, yet he kept his eyes trained on the peaceful face of his wife. It was all he saw as he sank back into numb darkness.

His teammates witnessed Daniel's fragile grip on consciousness finally give way, and Jack leaped forward to check his condition. "Damn, he's out cold. What the hell happened in here?"

Teal'c, though he outwardly appeared impassive as ever, looked pained. "I came in to find DanielJackson held in the grips of a ribbon device. He was mere moments away from death; I was forced to fire upon Amounet and end the life of Sha're."

Jack looked back at Daniel, swearing under his breath. "Daniel is not going to take this well," he guessed, hauling his unconscious friend into a sitting position and hefting him in a fireman's carry. "Let's get him back to the SGC. Teal'c, get Sha're."

Teal'c actually flinched at the command. "O'Neill, I do not believe-"

"You're the only one strong enough to carry her, and the only one I trust not to disrespect her body," Jack explained as he shifted Daniel's weight on his shoulders, heading out into the open. "Carter, you go on ahead. Let them know we've got casualties."

It was only after they got back to the SGC that Jack had time to think about what had happened. Teal'c had killed Sha're. Daniel's reason for staying with the Stargate program was now gone, and then some. He had absolutely no idea how Daniel was going to react to all of this. Would he resign? Would he request a transfer? Daniel didn't seem like the suicide type, but could he be driven to do something drastic? Would he even remember what had happened?

Jack was interrupted from his dark musings by a pained whimper from the infirmary bed. In a flash, he was standing over his injured friend, waiting for him to wake up. "Daniel," he said, very softly.

Daniel's eyes cracked open groggily, and the ragged burn on his forehead stood out even more against his pale skin. "Jack?"

Frasier appeared out of nowhere, shining the much-hated penlight in Daniel's eyes. Daniel tried to jerk away, but the doctor held his head still. "Hey," she said soothingly. "How do you feel?"

"My head hurts," Daniel whispered. He hesitated. "Sha're's dead."

"Yeah," Jack replied quietly, at a loss as to what to say. "I'm sorry, Daniel."

"I want to see her," Daniel declared, turning pleading eyes on Jack when the doctor and his friend started to protest. "Please, Jack...I have to know that it's over."

Jack couldn't bear saying no to Daniel. It'd be like kicking a whole litter of puppies. "Doc?" he said instead.

Frasier could usually stand up to any beseeching look, but she had the exact same thought plastered all over her face. "The IV will have to stay in, but I'll get you a wheelchair," she said, patting Daniel's arm gently.

The trip down to the morgue was very somber. Daniel didn't say a word as Jack pushed him down the corridor, and Jack didn't even try to offer lame platitudes. Kasuf and Teal'c stood guard over the sheet-covered figure on the cold steel table. "Good Son," Kasuf acknowledged Daniel. "It is a sad day for us all."

"Yes," Daniel said, bowing his head and somehow managing to look even smaller. "I have failed you, Good Father," he said in Abydonian, voice cracking a little.

Kasuf laid a hand on Daniel's shoulder. "This is not true, my Good Son," the elder of Nagada told his son-in-law in the same tongue. "No longer will the demons hurt my daughter, and she can be at peace in the sand of her homelands at last. I regret that she no longer lives, but it is not your fault." Daniel couldn't bring himself to reply, but nodded his head.

Jack looked to Daniel for permission, then drew back the sheet. Even death failed to lessen Sha're's beauty and Daniel leaned forward to look at her. He caressed her cheek, barely noticing how cold she was. The spark of life, the one that had told him his visions were false and Sha're still lived, was totally absent. Part of his soul felt like it had been cruelly ripped away and he knew without a doubt that this was real.


	29. Foothold: Hanging Around

Tag #29 – Hanging Around

It was like being underwater. Sounds, voices, all filtering down through a thick layer of molasses to reach his ears. He tried to reach up and unblock his ears, but his arms were heavy and refused to obey. He tried moving his legs, kicking when it accomplished nothing. His body was a total dead weight.

Giving up on moving for now, he listened to the muffled voices coming from somewhere behind him. "_-going on? How'd...get like this?_"

"_...asking me?_"

_That sounds like Jack_, Daniel decided muzzily. _And who...? Major Davis?_

More noises, not Jack or Davis this time. Much farther away and...below him? _What the hell is goin' on?_

The noises went on for a minute. At least he assumed it was a minute. His head seemed stuffed with cotton batting, blocking half his thoughts from ever making it out of his subconscious. Then struggling noises, coming from the same direction as the first voices.

If he'd been able to move, he would've jumped in surprise at the loud crash and "_Ow!_" coming from right below him. _Wonder what Jack did this time,_ he thought. _Come on Jack, help me out here._

He couldn't quite summon the energy to be indignant as Jack and Davis ignored him, talking amongst themselves. Daniel thought back, trying to puzzle out what exactly had happened. _Last thing I remember is being in the infirmary,_ he remembered. The rest was a grey fog, but underlying it all was the feeling that someone had been trying to suck his brains out with a straw.

The sound of his own voice brought his attention back to the apparent drama going on beneath his feet. "_It's good to see you. Oh my God, I figured...had to keep you alive...access your minds..._"

"_Whoa, hey! Who're you?_"

"_...sir?_"

_The other me is really lousy at being me,_ Daniel declared to anyone who would listen, though seeing as he couldn't get his mouth to work, the only audience was himself.

His muddled mind didn't feel any better when "his" voice suddenly warped into Sam's for awhile. And then they all left, and the room was totally silent.

_Well, shit,_ Daniel managed to think. _Now what?_

He wasn't sure how long it was before anyone came back into the room. Gradually there were more voices, both beside and below him, and a few painful-sounding thuds. Without any warning whatsoever, full consciousness whooshed back, and he jerked his head up with a gasp. "Holy _crap_," he breathed, reaching up to pry a tight metal headband off his forehead.

"Hey, you okay?" Jack asked, and Daniel suddenly noticed that the floor was a good ten feet down. Jack was standing on a moveable set of stairs that put him level with Daniel's position. By twisting his neck up he could see that he was attached to the ceiling by some sort of pink rubbery strands, and his chest was encased in a hard harness of some kind.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Daniel replied, and Jack reached under a protrusion on the harness. With a snap, Daniel fell out of the enveloping material and onto the platform on top of the stairs. "Ow."

Jack helped him down to the ground floor, and Daniel shuddered when he saw the strange harnesses dangling above their heads. "What happened?" he asked, rubbing the side of his head.

"Foothold situation," Jack explained, scooting the stairs over to gain access to another harnessed person. "Bunch of aliens made themselves look like us and put us in these things to keep us out of the way. The nurses in the infirmary were already duplicated, they shot us full of sedative and then the next thing I knew, I woke up in one of those rubber slings."

"You don't remember anything between then?" Daniel asked in surprise, recalling his own struggle for coherent thought during those long hours.

"No, not a thing," Jack said absently as he freed an airman. "Why?"

"Uh, no reason. Just wondering."


	30. Urgo: The Power of Urgo Compels You

Tag #30 – The Power of Urgo Compels You

"This is the best pie I've ever had!"

"Well, what's so different about it?" Sam asked with a mouthful of jello.

Daniel ignored the conversation in favor of grabbing more of the super-delicious pie. _What's making this taste so good?_ he wondered, eyeing a piece of chocolate-cream pie at the other end of the table. _Ooh yeah, I want that._ He reached out towards the pie.

"_Hey, watch it!_"

"Whoops, sorry Jack." Daniel's grin revealed that he was not sorry in the slightest. He lifted his hand and Pushed the zat back at Jack. It flew into the older man's chest, and he grunted with the impact.

"No fair disarming me on an alien planet," Jack said, gesturing at the very wet jungle landscape. Various rocks lay strewn about the soft earth, and a few yards away the ground became smooth stone in front of a huge temple. A few yards the other way, a somewhat familiar-looking man in a black flightsuit was standing on one hand, all sorts of objects leisurely orbiting his body.

"Relax, Jack," Daniel said, Pulling Jack's sunglasses out of his pocket and putting them on his own face. "Hey look, no hands!"

"Showoff," Jack muttered, scraping mud off his boot with a sharp rock. He let out a startled yelp as an unseen force suddenly yanked at him, knocking him off-balance and straight into a puddle. He sputtered. "What the _hell_? Daniel!"

Daniel had never looked more innocent than he did right now. "Luke told me I had to practice if I wanted to be any good at this. Hang on." Squinting a little, he made a small wave of his hand. Jack abruptly left the ground and was tossed lightly through the air, coming to a stop just before he would've hit a rather large tree. "Whoops," Daniel said sheepishly.

"Dammit, Daniel, I'm not a _yo-yo_," Jack shouted, his voice taking on a distinctly unmanly squeak of surprise at finding himself doing an involuntary imitation of George of the Jungle, sans vine-rope.

"I was _aiming_ for the mud," Daniel explained, letting Jack land on his ass with a muffled thud. "Here, let me try again..."

"NO!" Jack yelled, then coughed and forced himself to speak a little quieter. "I'll just do it the old-fashioned way with water and soap, thanks anyway." Picking himself up, he high-tailed it for the sanctuary of the stone temple, leaving squishy brown bootprints behind.

Daniel stood in the courtyard for a few more minutes, Pushing and Pulling large rocks to test his abilities. Finally, the handstanding man spoke up. "Do you feel ready to move on to larger targets?" he asked without opening his eyes or allowing his orbiting satellites to slow or falter.

"I thought size matters not," Daniel mused, braiding three tree branches together.

"It doesn't," the man admitted, "but most of my students have it drilled into their heads for years that heavier objects are harder to lift. I myself had quite a time trying to understand that, until Master Yoda Pulled my x-wing right out of a swamp after I'd failed."

"Hmm, x-wing..." Daniel thought out loud, allowing a small smile to form on his lips. "Sam's tinkering with yours, isn't she?"

The man finally opened his eyes to look at his newest student. "Daniel," he admonished, "the Force is not to be used for parlor tricks or your own amusement." Yet he also wore an indulgent smile, and Daniel guessed he'd been through this dance with students before.

"Right, sorry Luke," Daniel apologized, tying the trees in a half-hitch without snapping them or dislodging any leaves.

"Of course," Luke said after a moment, closing his eyes again, "if you were to levitate the x-wing itself, that would be good practice for training to lift heavier objects."

Daniel grinned. "Of course."

Five minutes later, the jungle rang out with a shriek of, "Daniel, put me _down_!" Luke smiled to himself and added another rock to his collection.

Daniel fled from the scene, thoroughly pleased with how smoothly the levitation had gone. He hadn't made the ship crash or anything. Now, to find Teal'c...he didn't know quite what the Jaffa could "help" him with yet, but he was sure there would be something.

"_All I_ do _know is...I don't even _like_ yogurt._"

Daniel blinked, suddenly finding himself back in the SGC commissary. A piece of chocolate pie had somehow found its way over to him, but he had no memory of grabbing it. The whipped chocolate filling was wobbling a little as if it had suddenly been...yanked across the table.

He eyed it curiously as he took a big bite. _I didn't just...no, I couldn't._ Figuring there was no other way to find out, he idly scanned the table and focused on Sam's jello, trying to make it slide across the table. Nothing.

"What're you looking at my jello for?" Sam asked, noticing.

"Er, nothing," he said hastily with a dismissive wave. "Forget it. Go back to your jello."

To his surprise, she immediately went back to eating the blue dessert with an almost pornographic look of joy on her face. Ordinarily he would've found that odd and worthy of questioning, but there was a perfectly good – better than perfectly good – slice of chocolate pie in front of him, just screaming, "Eat me, Daniel! It's why I'm here!" And who was he to argue? Putting all thoughts of the odd vision out of his head, he happily dug in.

Unfortunately the moment was spoiled by a loud voice announcing, "SG-1, report to Med Lab three." Daniel cast a look at the loudspeaker, glaring at it. _I didn't even get to finish my pie!_ he grumbled mentally as he got up to follow his teammates out of the room. _What could be more important than finishing dessert?_

As he left the commissary, he could hear Jack going back for seconds. Or maybe it was fourths...fifths? God knew. _Dammit, I should've brought my pie with me,_ he berated himself as Jack jogged down the hall, four bemused and hassled-looking SFs in tow.


	31. Shades of Grey: Foundations

Tag #31 – Foundations

Daniel was shaking as he fled Jack's house, seeking the sanctuary of his car. Jack's final words echoed in his ears. _"Apparently not much of a foundation there, huh?"_ It felt like something inside him was not quite breaking, but being torn ragged instead. Taking a deep breath, he leaned his forehead against the steering wheel. "I can't believe that," he whispered. "That was _not_ Jack."

He glanced at the innocent-looking house out of the corner of his eye, half-hoping to see Jack coming out to apologize, to say he didn't mean it. But the door remained firmly closed.

He started his car and pulled out of the driveway, unsure of where to go. He didn't feel like going back to the base, but after that emotional knife in the back, he didn't want to go back to his apartment either. And so he drove, unmindful of where he was going, only trying to get away.

He wasn't sure how long he drove, but when he saw the signs for the Garden of the Gods park, he decided to take a walk along one of the many trails open to the public. The park was rather empty this time of day, which suited his need for solitude. He hiked all the way back to the Kissing Camels rock formation and sat down on the low stone wall, staring up at the natural monument. _Look at me,_ he scoffed, _hanging out with rocks for solace. If Jack saw me here..._

He sighed, looking down at the pavement. _There was something wrong with Jack,_ he realized, forcing himself to think back on that horrible conversation. _He didn't _want_ to hurt me like that._

_"Come on, you're a bright guy. You had to sense some of this."_

"No," he mumbled under his breath. "I didn't sense any _genuine_ dislike. There _was_ something there, we _were_ friends. What happened?"

Thinking back, he knew that Jack had been lying from the start. He'd been uneasy, on edge, just trying to get Daniel to go away. Why? What was so important that he needed to drive Daniel away, sever the ties of friendship?

He looked up at the sky, barely taking notice of the incoming storm clouds. There was something about the whole thing that just didn't seem right. Jack had wanted so badly for Daniel to leave, but at the same time he'd been radiating waves of...something. Something that told him Jack desperately wanted him to notice, to catch on, but at the same time not say anything about it. _All right Jack, you got my attention. What were you trying to tell me?_

_"Yes to the beer. No to the feelings."_

Could that have been some kind of hint? Nothing past that truly seemed sincere. _"Stop your worrying. I'm fine."_ But Jack had been angry, and gave some bullshit answer when Daniel had asked.

_He didn't want to do it,_ Daniel realized. _He had no choice, and wanted me to get away before I figured out it was all a sham. But why?_

It still hurt that Jack hadn't trusted him, and that he'd known just where to twist the knife to drive Daniel away in a hurry. And yet that horrible torn feeling was eased somewhat by the knowledge that Jack hadn't wanted to shatter the bonds of friendship, he just had no other choice.

"Well Jack," he said out loud, "I don't know what you're up to, but I'll play along. No one will know I've caught on until you're ready to come clean."

Getting to his feet, he started the trek back to his car.


	32. Maternal Instinct: What You Already Know

Tag #32 – What You Already Know

"A Goa'uld mothership has landed," Teal'c announced as he entered the temple. "As many as two thousand troops approach."

"Love to stay and chat," Jack said coldly and strode out, not even turning to see if Daniel was following.

"Wait, wait a minute!" Daniel protested. "What about..." He gave up as the others left the temple, and turned to look at the monk. He spun around in a full circle before he realized the monk was apparently gone, vanished as quickly as he had appeared.

An electric tingle of an approaching presence resonated down his spine, and his first instinct was to suspect Jaffa, but the protective aura of Kheb didn't waver a bit. He shivered and turned to face the presence, eyes widening as a beautiful light took shape near the ceiling. It gracefully swooped down to hover in front of him, ethereal tendrils waving gently as if in some unseen breeze.

_"Welcome, Daniel."_

The words weren't really words, and he wasn't quite sure how he understood their meaning, but it was somehow clear as a finely-cut diamond. _It knows my name,_ he thought wonderingly.

The light shimmered, and somehow he knew it was smiling at him. Then it slowly drifted towards the wall in front of him, passing through it as easily as if it were air. _"Trust,"_ the not-words whispered again.

On a more rational level, he knew he shouldn't trust an unknown entity without any proof of friendliness. However, something even deeper told him there was absolutely nothing to fear from the mysterious presence, nor the approaching Jaffa.

He stepped up to the wall, unable to see anything to set it apart from the others, and reached out his hand. It passed through without even a hint of resistance, and he pulled it back in surprise. _Wow. That explains a lot._ Taking a deep breath, he swiftly stepped through to the other side.

The brightly glowing shape hovered next to a gold-shrouded form, and as he stepped closer, a huge weight slipped from his chest as he beheld Sha're's baby. _"This is what you seek,"_ the thought-words said.

_Yes..._ Totally captivated by the tiny life in front of him, he gently picked the child up and merely stared at him for a few long moments. He finally managed to drag his eyes away to look up at the glowing shape, who had assumed the face of a woman. An eerie sense of familiarity nudged at him as he looked at her, but he couldn't quite pin down where he'd seen her before. When he tried, all he could remember was an overwhelming sense of peace and safety.

"Thank you," Daniel said gratefully, somehow getting the feeling she'd helped him before. "He'll be safe with me." He turned to leave, the infant held safely in his arms. But with every step towards the false wall, a sense of wrongness grew, and he turned to face the planet's guardian. She looked at him sadly, and then he knew.

"I didn't do any of it, did I?" She smiled at that, but remained silent. "It was you. I was wrong, I don't...I don't have any powers at all. You do. You were showing them to me."

_"When an average person hears of the Great Path, he believes half of it, and doubts the other half."_ The thought came through as almost-words this time, not quite English but as familiar to him as breathing.

"That's how you communicate with us," he speculated, sensing her approving confirmation. "You were trying to tell me the boy's better off here with you, and I wasn't listening. I made a promise." He wanted so badly to just walk out with the boy, but a stronger sense of right compelled him to walk back over to the cradle and gently place the boy amongst the golden padding. A tiny fist clenched at his shirt as if in farewell, then let go. The guardian looked at him calmly, and he met her gaze. "I promised he would be safe."

_"I have heard that those who celebrate life walk safely among the wild animals,"_ the almost-words came to him again._ "When they go into battle, they remain unharmed. The animals find no place to attack them and the weapons are unable to harm them. Why? Because they can find no place for death in them."_

Five minutes later, Daniel merely took a step backwards as an entire battalion of Jaffa was incinerated in a massive lightning strike no more than ten feet from him. The massive bolt passed mere feet from his head, but he never felt a moment's fear that he would get hit.

"Well _that_ was cool," Jack spoke up after a long moment of shocked silence. "Wow."

Daniel turned to face the temple again as he felt the guardian approaching again, and was only slightly startled to see the dead monk suddenly transform into the same bright light as the ancient guardian, leaving his robes behind. As the new light-like being disappeared from the courtyard, the woman-shape life form emerged through the doorway of the temple, carrying the baby in her ethereal arms.

He took a step closer to her. "You're leaving." She merely looked at him, and he understood. "You know that more of them will come as long as they know the boy is here," he added, looking down at the wide-eyed little baby.

_"Changing the natural is against the way of the Great Path. Those who do it will come to an early end."_ She nodded reassuringly, and he believed her.

"I will see you both again someday, right?"

She reached out an otherworldly hand, and gently brushed it against his face. _"All roads lead to the Great Path, just as the small streams and the largest rivers flow through valleys to the sea."_ With one final faint, knowing smile, she lost her human-like shape and vanished into the night.


	33. Crystal Skull: Bonds

Tag #33 – Bonds

Daniel felt rather like an ignored puppy as he trailed after Jack and Sam, moving down the hallway to the elevator. He knew they couldn't see or hear him, but he wasn't used to being totally ignored like this, and habit kept him interjecting unheard comments into the conversation.

"...if he really was transported to P7X-377, maybe the skull was trying to send me somewhere and something interrupted the process," he thought out loud, half-expecting Jack to make some smartass response. It didn't come, but by now he wasn't paying much attention to the conversation going on in front of him. _Maybe Nick's giant aliens really exist. That would explain a lot._ "We have to go back there." _It's the only way to find out for certain._ "And we have to talk to those giant aliens."

Sam was holding the elevator door open. "Do you get the feeling Daniel's still around?" she asked casually.

Jack paused, almost hearing the familiar anthropological rambling of his best friend being whispered in his ear. "Kinda," he admitted slowly, trying to block out the eerie feeling that someone was standing right next to him. Suddenly he really wanted to go back to the planet and meet with those giant aliens.

"Maybe it's because we miss him," Sam theorized, looking away and ignoring that weird shiver. She'd been having them ever since she woke up in the infirmary, but there was a strange undercurrent to each one that went beyond the physical. It made no sense, so she pushed it away. There would be time to think about it later.

Jack mentally shook himself. _What are you doing?_ he chastised that bizarre inner voice. _Daniel's grandfather is nuts. There probably aren't even any giant aliens. So why do I suddenly believe him?_ "Or radiation sickness," he grumbled, fighting the traitorous thoughts.

Sam attempted to laugh it off. "Good night, sir."

The elevator door shut, finally attracting Daniel's attention. He blinked in confusion as Jack walked off down the hallway. "What? That's it?" he sputtered. "Whatever happened to working through the night?" he yelled as the colonel turned the corner, unaware of his words. He looked over at the closed elevator door. "I'd do it for you..."

Just around the corner, Jack paused. Something was tugging him back into the hallway he just left. _This is just spooky. There is no one there. No one! Therefore, there is no reason to go back._ Satisfied that his subconscious might finally bow to reason, he continued down the hallway.

Daniel sighed. Nick would be at the VIP room soon. Deciding to get there first, he took a shortcut through a few walls. "Guess I'll have to get used to this," he muttered to himself, barely flinching as an airman walked right through him. "Daniel Jackson, the SGC ghost. It's pretty ironic that it would have to be me."

Resigned to an eternity of restless wandering, he leaned against the wall and waited for Nick to arrive.


End file.
